The other two nodded and he quickly said, “First light then,” and the women cut communications with a nod.
This left a sour taste in his mouth, but this was the only thing they could do. Any unannounced appearance in their region of space could be seen as a threat, the fact they went straight for the Avenger even more so.
Johnny went back to pacing his office. Too many questions, and no one to answer them.
Once again he punched in the comms for the Fernix. This time he expected an answer, but there was still nothing.
Chapter Ten
VCF Fernix
Oort Cloud, Osdal System
5/3556
Aaron was alerted to the fact that Osdal was sending several messages, from different cities and stations, but he didn’t have all that much time to act. The EMF Avenger would be alerted to their proximity if he didn’t input the codes quickly, so his priority and that of his team was to concentrate on those. It wasn’t an easy job, bypassing the carrier’s systems. Not that it really mattered to him, but it would to those down on Osdal, who were probably now panicking like crazy that they’d showed up a few decades earlier than planned.
No matter how much he thought the Victor Corp had the respect of those here, it still worried him. They’d had many years to make sure that no one could take their system from them, especially after the Harmony War.
They would be grisly and ready for anything; he wasn’t stupid in taking that for granted.
Dev looked at him. “All codes have been accepted. We can take our time now and approach the Avenger as we’d planned.”
“Good,” Aaron replied. “Is the information package ready to send to Osdal?”
“Also ready, sir.”
“Send away. We need both parties on our side.”
Aaron waited for confirmation from Dev on the package being sent and received before he made his next move. Watching the Avenger on his screen, his thoughts turned to the men and women who fought here, who died here during the Harmony War. He’d seen the footage of Mark that was blasted for everyone to see, bouncing around the sun-stroked desert floor by several air-cars. With a cringe, he spoke clearly for Theo. “Take us in, close as you can. We’ll shuttle across as planned.”
“Maneuvering alongside the Avenger,” he replied as he tapped in codes.
Aaron pushed himself up. “Team One, meet me in the shuttle bay. We’re a go-to wake this badass crew up.”
He didn’t wait for the reply from his command sergeant. He quickly made his way off the bridge and toward the shuttle bay. Getting across to the Avenger would be easy now; securing their cargo while he woke up one of the senior officers might not be. There was always something a ship’s captain had up his sleeve. This one—he’d heard tales of being sneaky. Hence the guard to back him up.
Securing himself into the shuttle, Dev’s comms came through. “Osdal’s received the package. There is movement from their military bases, though, sir.”
“I wouldn’t expect anything else. Wait till we’re aboard the Avenger and then send the second package. I need them to understand a little more about this situation, but don’t want to frighten them off. They’ll want to know trade agreements are still on the cards, not a takeover.”
Aaron knew the next package they should see would be exactly the same video he would show the captain of the Avenger. The one Mark had made for all of them to witness. He had watched it himself and it had scared the living daylights out of him. These Maraukians were nothing more than creatures of doom. Without the mergers, any system without severe legion backing was dead. If they attacked Osdal now, they would not be ready. They’d lose the system. The Avenger would be more than likely wiped out as the Maraukian barges reached them. Then they’d hit the planet.
Aaron shuddered in his seat.
“The second package has been delivered. Do you want open comms now, sir?”
Aaron was quick to answer. “No, but if they do comm for us, tell them I’ll be with them as soon as possible. Then I’ll set up a meeting for us all.”
“Affirmative, Captain,” Dev replied.
And so, Aaron waited while his shuttle set off and then made its way over toward the Avenger. Its darkened hull gave off the barest amount of energy. No one awake; everyone asleep. Aaron’s skin crawled as they moved closer to the ghost ship.
Chapter Eleven
Malazar School
Tricticus, Emarl System
5/3556
Pela knocked on Doctor McKay’s office door. She’d gotten the message to stop by from Gondi a few hours ago. Of all days—exam results day, and the day they would all be told where their placements would be. Pela’s nerves were frayed, end to end. Everything happened today; she even had a scheduled call to her parents to go over her results. And yet this was the last thing she’d expected, to be called in here. It felt weird.
“Come,” the woman’s voice called through.
Pela opened the door and stepped into the spacious office.
“Please.” Doctor McKay waved her in.
Pela stepped on over toward where she’d been sitting at her desk.
Doctor McKay moved from behind the desk and pointed toward a square on the floor. “Step on,” she ordered.
Pela thought it was strange, but she waited while the doctor watched her for a few moments.
Then she indicated the chair before her desk. “Take a seat please, Pela.”
When she did, the woman sat before her and brought up an image. It was of her. “Do you see this?”
Pela looked at it, and could only nod. She’d no idea as to what was happening.
Then the image changed. “See the difference?”
Pela stared at the holo. She couldn’t see anything.
“Well, access your NIAI and let me know what you see then?” Doctor McKay prompted.
“Gondi,” Pela asked, “can you analyze the two images?”
“Of course. It is, after all, what I sent to the doctor this morning.”
Pela was confused. “What do you mean?”
“You’ve been ignoring my prompts to get lunch and dinner on a regular basis. This is the result.” Gondi overlayed the two images and there it was: the second image fit inside the first.
Doctor McKay’s head nodded up and down. “You see it now—good. Your NIAIs are to keep a check on all our students’ health and to report any activities that put them at risk. You’ve been ignoring yours.”
“I...I just kept putting it off.”
She had noticed tying her slacks a notch further in a few weeks ago and again this morning.
“Well, you’re being put on a class two watch. When Gondi tells you from now on that it’s time to eat, you eat. If you go to a class one watch, you’ll be removed from this program. Understand?”
Pela swallowed. “Yes, ma’am.”
There was no way she wanted to be removed from the program. With no way to pay her debt off to the Victor Corp, she might have to resort to her parents’ wishes—to find a man to take her on. There was no way, no way in hell, she wanted that.
Leaving the doctor’s office, she chided herself. She was about to get news on her placements, where she’d be going to try out in space. She didn’t want to be watched, for health reasons.
She almost ran for the cafeteria. No better time than the present. When she addressed Gondi, she was firm. But it was really directing herself onto a better path. “Make sure I do not ignore you for meal times. And make sure I put enough food on my plate that I start to gain weight. You can help me with that, right?”
Gondi’s voice came back. “Of course I can. I’ll just bug you from now on until you get off your backside.”
It was as she was leaving the bathroom that the call came in from her parents. Gondi let her know who was asking for her attention. At first she’d hesitated; she had been drinking. But then she remembered the joy on seeing the results. She should be proud to tell them, and she was. She moved away from the bathroom to an area wher
e there weren’t many people about, and then she accepted the call.
“We’ve been trying to get hold of you all evening. Where have you been?” her father came across with the sternest tone she’d listened to all day. It immediately brought her mood down.
“I’m sorry,” she said. “I’ve just been too busy with tests.”
“Tests? Who cares about tests? What kind of suitors have you been able to find?”
They didn’t care at all for her struggles, instead looking for the gains that they could make.
“Father, we got our results today. I’m advancing past the next level,” Pela said with a weak smile, looking at her father to see a smile or a look of shock on his face. Instead, her smile dimmed with his words.
“So many hopes were placed on you, but you’re doing tests and talking of advancements.” Her father shook his head, clearly unimpressed. “Come home and save us from the embarrassment. The Holga family has made appeals to us. It looks like they’re interested in finding someone who experienced the skill school and has the right upbringing to marry their third master.” Her father didn’t look pleased.
The third master was a known adulterer, and he wasn’t in line to gain power over the Holga clan.
To him, women were nothing but objects to be used.
Her father wanted to trade away her position to increase his personal power, not caring for the condition of his daughter.
Pela froze. The world started to fade away as her mother joined in on the conversation, talking about the wedding ceremony and the different plans that they had.
Her father nodded in the background, agreeing to everything as if it was only right.
“Father, Mother,” Pela said, feeling lost, as if she were seeing them for the first time. She had known that this was a possible future, but she hoped that with her achievements she would make them proud, that they would be happy for her.
They don’t care. This thought rocked her mind and sent her reeling.
“They have even agreed to pay off your debts, which are surely mounting. It is a shame that you weren’t able to find someone of good enough standing.” Her mother sighed.
She saw that there was nothing that she could do: she was but a tool for them, a commodity to be used.
“Sorry, I need to go.” With that, she closed communication with them.
She felt so small, so insignificant as she walked through Malazar school. The joy from making it into the next stage of training was dulled as her world cracked around her.
She had met such positive people who wanted nothing more than her success—but she wasn’t related to them.
Working on the teams, she felt alive; she stepped outside of her comfort zone. It didn’t matter where they came from; they could all joke and laugh together.
She made it to the cafeteria, grabbed a tray and doled food onto a plate. She didn’t even look around as she moved to a table and sat down.
The food tasted like nothing as she scooped it into her mouth. Staring at the bright-orange liquid and red vegetable-looking things inside it, she wasn’t so sure she was enjoying it or not.
“Go on,” Aileen came in behind her, and put her tray down, “you try it and tell me if it’s any good.”
“It’s not bad.” She poked it around the plate some more. Pela couldn’t help but notice out the large windows and this far up how much the world around them was changing. “Been growing well, hasn’t it?” she said to Aileen.
Aileen stared out the window in the direction she’d been looking. “Yeah. I think this city and the local area is so cool. Last week, I discovered an amazing market just down a few blocks.”
“You’ve been going out?” Pela asked.
Aileen shoved some food into her mouth and then chewed slowly, obviously enjoying it. When she’d almost finished, she grinned. “Sure, haven’t you?”
Pela put a forkful of food into her mouth and savored the sweet and yet nutty, not fruity taste to the dish. “No, been studying as much as I could. Making sure I’d pass all the exams.”
Aileen frowned at her. “You’re smarter than most of us. What the hell are you talking about?”
Pela glanced back to the large structures in the background, those still with cranes and construction around them. “I just want the best for me, for my clan. I figured study harder and everything else will fall into place.”
Aileen reached over and placed a hand on hers. “I’m heading out tonight, you know, with the others to celebrate our placements. Why don’t you come with us? I’ll show you some of the local sights, as well as enjoy our last days together.”
Pela looked at her and saw the genuine warmth. “I’d like that.” A slight tug at the back of her mind made her worry over the schedule she’d planned. But that was all. She could afford one night off, right? She wouldn’t be stupid; she’d still be home in time for some decent rest and then to move on. Wherever it might be.
“That’s awesome. I’ll see you in the dorms to get ready then, about nineteen hundred?”
Pela nodded and Aileen shoveled the rest of her food in her mouth and then started to chat away about the others. She seemed mostly to talk about Remy. And that amused Pela quite a lot; she smiled and nodded in all the right places.
Aileen finished the rest of her drink, made her excuses about some class, and vanished, leaving Pela with her half-finished meal and a thoughtful glance. She’d not really enjoyed the dish but knew she needed to eat. After the meeting with the doctor, it had been evident; with all the studying and running about these large complexes, her energy output had upped and yet her intake was dwindling.
Putting her tray away, she moved to the dormitory for a little while before their results were scheduled to come through. There were a few of her classmates sitting and lounging around. Some were talking about their futures, and others asleep. It was exactly where she wanted to be, somewhere that was part of a bigger plan. Back home, nothing but putting out to a guy she wasn’t interested in mattered.
Pela hadn’t noticed she’d drifted off to sleep. Gondi’s ping woke her a while later.
“There’s an incoming communication mail for you.”
Pela brought it up and hesitated. It was from the teacher of one of her classes: “Recommendations for Tier One candidates.”
“What’s this?” she asked him. “I’m not Tier One.”
Gondi pushed the “open” and she let out a sigh. Dear Tier One student.
Then it was scratched out.
Pela, even with your recent warning this morning, you’ve been accepted into the next phase for advanced engineering. Congratulations. You have one night off. Pack your bags and be ready to move by thirteen hundred tomorrow. Be warned: keep Doctor McKay off your back, study hard, and I see good things in your future.
Then she noticed the time. Crap… She ran for the main bathroom to shower and grab a change of clothes.
***
Aileen waited for her when she exited the stall. “Come on, we’re gonna miss the bus if you don’t hurry.”
Pela pulled out a change of clothes and Aileen shook her head. Within a second, she’d grabbed something out of her own closet and rushed back. “Your shoes will still work with this. Slip it over your head and I’ll tie it at the back so it doesn’t look as baggy.”
Pela frowned. Short months ago, she’d have been bursting out of the dress her friend now lent her. Now she was having to use a tie back. “Thank you,” she mumbled, as Aileen pulled the tie tight against her back then knotted it.
“You look beautiful.” She looked Pela up and down. “Let’s go.” Without another word and ignoring Pela’s still wet hair, she tugged her off and out of the dorm.
Aileen wasn’t the only one who noticed her. When they met up with Ashaeed and Remy, the two guys wolf whistled at them and laughed. “I think we’re the luckiest guys out tonight,” Remy said, eyeing Pela.
Pela blushed and couldn’t meet his eyes.
“Come on. We’ve a short rid
e to where we’re going tonight.” Ashaeed held out his arm for Pela to take.
He might have been a few years younger than her, but they all had a great friendship, which Pela was glad of. “Where we going?” she asked.
Remy shook his head. “I’m not even telling Aileen that.” He laughed. “This is my surprise. You girls both get your results?”
Pela glanced to Aileen, who grinned at her. “Yes, but we’ll share at dinner, yes?”
“Aw, come on, this trip would be a lot more exciting if you shared now!” Remy smiled, but pulled Aileen away.
Pela and Ashaeed could only follow. “You’ve no idea where he’s taking us?”
Ashaeed shrugged. “I do hope it’s to a good restaurant, though. We deserve that at least. Besides, we’ve barely spent any of our allotted payments, right? I noted all of us rarely went out.” He pointed toward Aileen. “Well, bar Aileen’s shopping trips, but I think she went more to look than buy.”
Pela now knew although her friend had some lovely clothes, she’d never once brought anything back with her, hence why she’d never thought she’d left Malazar Skill School.
They walked for what seemed awhile, first to get out of the school’s grounds and then in and out of a few city streets, toward a main station. The shuttle stations hadn’t been back up and running for long, mostly bringing in supplies for building and then other goods as the area around developed. But when Pela saw the station itself, she was quite surprised. The gardens around it were well maintained, green, and wonderfully colored flowers and trees stood proudly growing in the newly planted beds. Beautiful wasn’t the word, and the hustle and bustle around it was intoxicating.
“There’s only four scheduled shuttles in and out for civilians and students,” Remy told them. “We’re booked on the next one.”
Pela watched as a shuttle approached. It wasn’t quite the same as the ones she’d arrived on Crisidium in. These were luxury tour shuttles. “Must have cost a small fortune.”
Enemies on All Sides (Maraukian War Book 4) Page 6